


Playing Chess

by Writegirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Avengers: Infinity War Spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, I Reject Your Reality And Insert My Own, Loki Does What He Wants, Marvel Universe, Memory Magic, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Nornheim, POV Loki (Marvel), Psychological Torture, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Thanos is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 12:31:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14544804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writegirl/pseuds/Writegirl
Summary: Major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War. Please don't read unless you want to be spoiled or have seen the movie.He meant to be king of Asgard, to be a worthy successor to Odin even while he was wearing his father’s likeness.





	Playing Chess

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, Marvel is killing me, which means I have to write because my delusions are the only thing keeping me from curling up into a little ball in the corner. Seriously, Marvel, I don't care how... FIX THIS SHIT!

He truly wondered when Thor wouldn’t fall for such a simple trick. Granted, he’d given him good reason to think he was finished dealing in doubles, but it pained him to know his brother thought him to be so unbelievably stupid. 

Loki watched his brother as he screamed. Watched the anguish and heartbreak as Thor witnessed what he thought was left of his family, his people, throttled in front of him. There was a time when he wanted nothing but to see his brother suffer. To watch all hope wither in his eyes as he saw his end approach. Dreams given to him by the creature standing at Thanos’ side. Wants stitched into the fabric of his mind so thoroughly it took years to pluck the threads free and become himself again. He’d feared some remained, half-hidden in the fractured mindscape he spent so much time repairing. The sheer horror he felt as Thor was tortured in front of him, the desire for it to simply _cease, the Norns above just **stop,**_ gave him a strange sense of relief. They were emotions that were wholly his own, untainted by Maw and his tools. 

_This is the price,_ he reminded himself. Thanos had to think him foolish enough for such a wild gamble. The Loki he unleashed on the universe, more than half-mad and desperate for the pain to end would attack like a mad dog, and they had to believe that of him if his plan was to work. 

At least, he thought it was his plan. Loki recalled his visit to Nornheim at the beginning of his reign in Asgard. It took convincing, to make Heimdall open the gates so wide, to breach the very fabric of their dimension to allow him through, but it couldn’t be helped. He meant to be king of Asgard, to be a worthy successor to Odin, even while he was wearing his father’s likeness, and he could not rest knowing Thanos was plotting somewhere in the universe. It was fitting, in its own way. No ruler of the Realm Eternal visited the roots of Yggdrasil since the days of Mimir, and no ruler since Mimir lead what was left of his people to Asgard had faced Thanos. In the end, it took a not-politely worded royal command (and a note to himself to reread his father’s personal journals so he could learn more about the promise to never open the way to Nornheim again the Gatekeeper kept invoking) for Heimdall to open the way. The sensation was nothing like the normally placid weightlessness of regular Bifrost travel. Piercing the veil between dimensions was akin to his fall from the Bridge; a rending that left him feeling torn open and flayed when reality reasserted itself. 

_Nornheim was not what he expected._

_His childhood tales spoke of the Norns living at the roots of Yggdrasil itself, eternally watering the tree from the Well of Fate. He imagined landing at the base of a great tree, perhaps so large that it would be unrecognizable as such. Perhaps he would find himself standing on one of its roots, the scales of Nidhoggr rasping silently._

_He did not expect a hall, simple in its grandeur (or at least, the impression of a hall: his memory failed him in the details), or the three beings who stood at the end of it, attention focused on a shining, shallow cauldron. Power thrummed in the air around him heady as summer wine and thick as blood._

_**“Not-Odin.”**_

_**“Not-Son.”** _

_**“Not-King.”** _

_The Norn’s voices were beautiful harmony and terrible cacophony, perfectly synched. A whisper that threatened to deafen him, if it didn’t send him screaming into madness. Perhaps it would have if his mind wasn’t already intimately familiar with that state of being._

_Loki approached the Norns warily. He could see the power that wafted from them, stirring the shimmering cloth at their feet. He fought the temptation to use his arts to see the truth of them, sure he would be blinded if not burned to ash even as the potential knowledge taunted him for just one glimpse._

_“I am-” Loki stopped speaking, stopped moving, his breath freezing in his throat. His illusion was gone, vanished like so much smoke. He was assaulted by a feeling of disapproval not his own, and chagrin made him humph a small, humorless laugh. “I meant no disrespect, appearing as I did,” he soothed. “I planned on dropping the illusion once I was sure of my welcome.”_

_He stopped short, unsure of why but certain if he came closer he would be obliterated. At this distance, he could make out more of his hosts. Their faces were the same; smooth and ageless. All were of an exact height and build; tall, slender beings that should have faltered under their own power. They could have been triplets, but there was something about them that was distinct to each, something it felt his eyes constantly slid away from._

_“I take it You know why I’ve come.”_

_**“To fight fate.”**_

_**“For knowledge.”** _

_**“For revenge.”** _

_Loki swallowed at the last. Even he wasn’t insane enough to seek revenge against Thanos. At least, not by his own hand. “Then tell me what I must do.”_

_**“Seek the Thunderer.”**_

_**“Seek Infinity.”** _

_**“Seek your destruction.”** _

_Thor. It always boiled down to Thor. “And what does my oaf of a brother have to do with this?”_

_The Norns turned. Three pairs of eyes landed on him with the weight of ages and sent him to his knees._

_**“Thor is the hero,”** the Norns spoke in unison, and Loki felt what he was sure was blood trickle from his nose and ears. An image flared to life in his mind; a golden, brilliant cord that shone with the light of a thousand suns, and he knew he was seeing his brother’s thread. A million million battles, and always his brother triumphed. Battered and broken, perhaps, but victorious. **“The son of Odin is Fate’s champion. Always will he win.”** _

_“And me?” The words felt like they would burst his chest._

_Something like laughter rang in his thoughts. **“Always will you survive.”** _

_And that… that was just the story of Loki’s life._

_**“He will find the Stones.”**_

_**“He will get his wish.”** _

_**“He will learn of pain.”** _

_The pressure eased, left him with ringing ears and tattered soul, his magic fluctuating wildly. The Norns were once again focused on the Well. Loki gathered himself and stood, his legs weak as a new-born foal’s, his voice a rasp barely above a whisper._

_“What would you have me do?”_

Loki winced as the feel of phantom fingers on his own throat dragged him from his memories, the crushing weight of Thanos’ hand as it choked the life out of his double stopping his own breath. It couldn’t be helped. Both his brother and the Titan had to think him dead, had to believe it so completely that they would miss his presence, however cloaked. His casting went against everything he was taught by Frigga. Putting too much of one’s self into a double was dangers, borderline disastrous. Better to use a little energy, just enough to make a shadow of reality. Creating something of substance, something that thought and reacted as he would, that had light that faded from its eyes in death could drag the caster down with it. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he had too much gain and everything to lose if his gamble failed. 

Finally, it was done; the neck of the double snapping with a sharp pain that made spots flash before his eyes, his brother’s cries ending just as abruptly. Thor Odinson always wore his heart on his sleeve, for good or ill, which was why he chose not to tell him his plan. His brother was a terrible actor at the best of times, and Maw was nothing if not adept at weeding out dishonesty. He fought an involuntary shiver at the thought of the Black Order member seeing through his ploy, remembered well the methods he used to gain compliance. 

“I will kill you for that.” 

He couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s calm, quiet assurance, the expression taking on a razor-sharp edge when Thanos dismissed the threat out of hand. If there was one thing Loki learned over his long life, it was to never dismiss his brother when he took that tone. It may kill him in the end, but Thor would watch the light fade from Thanos’ eyes before he let himself die. 

Fate’s champion, indeed. 

Loki worked quickly as Thanos harnessed the gauntlet to destroy what was left of the Gamemaster’s ship, casting a preservative spell on Thor before teleporting himself as far away from the destruction as he could manage using the small fraction of the power he’d been siphoning from the Space stone for hours. Plans and possibilities swam before his eyes, honey and copper vied for attention on his tongue. The Titan thought him dead, a tool used and broken. Something not even useful enough to be salvaged and repurposed. 

_Thanos,_ he thought as he traveled through unreality. _You have no idea what I am._

_No one does._

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't believe how Loki died. I mean, really? The strategist? The one who wins even when he's losing? The one who always has a plan is going to pull a knife on a Titan with two Infinity Stones and hope for the best? There's desperation and then there's just straight up stupid, and Loki is smarter than that. Or maybe I'm giving him too much comic-Loki credit. If you're unfamiliar with comic book Loki, this appreciation thread is the perfect place to discover just how Loki is supposed to be, which makes his "sacrifice" seem all the more suspicious:
> 
> https://comicvine.gamespot.com/loki/4005-4324/forums/loki-respect-thread-643269/
> 
> I also like the idea of Loki showing up Dr. Strange. "Oh, you went through 14 billion iterations to try and find one where we win? I went to the source and straight up asked. Fight smart, not hard, Dr. Strange."
> 
> Loki's last lines are not mine. They are from the Thor Ragnorak storyline where Loki fights the Disir, badass Asgardian soul-eating demons. One of them effortlessly kills one of Mephisto's (basically the Devil) most skilled demon warriors without breaking a sweat. Loki takes on _all_ of them and beats them into submission singlehandedly.


End file.
